Lovely
by Elraralia
Summary: Mark and Karl haven't exactly been lucky in love. But will their fortunes change?
1. The Luckless One

_This is my 2nd Love Actually fic. The first (Wasted Heart) was written before there was the category for Love Actually here on FF.net and it was also not very good, so I thought I'd give it a go again. Also, I'm writing this because it gives me a good break from all my Lord of the Rings fics where I use more or less proper English. I can't use "shut up!" or "bugger off!" or "bloody hell". So I will use it now. Haha._

**Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Love Actually characters. If I did my name would be Richard Curtis. But I'm not Richard Curtis. However, I do "own" the characters that I make up. And I don't fancy typing disclaimers for every chapter so this goes for the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 : The Luckless One**

* * *

"Aw, just stop it!"

"What? I wasn't doing anything," Mark protested. "I was just trying to be friendly and entertaining."

"Well, I'm trying to eat, and I can't eat if I'm choking on my food because you're making me laugh so hard," Juliet replied, poking at her macaroni.

"Excuse me, but the last time I checked, a funny joke was a good thing." Mark turned to his best friend Peter. "Wouldn't you agree, Pete?"

Peter gulped down the last of his Coke. "Actually, funny jokes can be bad when it prevents someone from eating when he or she needs food."

"See?" Juliet said triumphantly. "Two against one!"

"Aw, that's not fair! Pete, you'll agree with _anything_ she says," Mark moaned. "Don't you care about your best bud anymore?"

"Of course I'll agree with her. She's my wife." Peter leaned closer to give Juliet a kiss. Just before their lips met, Juliet shot Mark a quick look, and he smiled and shrugged. It was their little secret, something that Peter would never know, and never find out about. And Mark was all right with that arrangement. This was the only way where no one got hurt.

Mark cleared his throat. "Well, if you two lovebirds are done with your public display of affection – of which that old lady over there is finding most distasteful – you will remember that Pete and I have inconvenient little things known as jobs. And you will also recall that our lunch hour is slowly ticking away, and soon we will have to be back doing those inconvenient little things, and so we should probably start eating our food." And he fell to eating his food with great enthusiasm.

After lunch, Peter went on his way to his job, and Juliet and Mark walked along together, since they were going in the same direction. "So, how's work?" Juliet asked.

Mark shrugged. "The same as every other time you've asked. Boring lots of the time, but I think that's part of the definition of 'work'. And there are some rather… interesting… pieces that I ask the kids not to laugh at, even though I do want to laugh at them myself."

"Like those Christmas pieces? I thought those were rather hilarious."

Mark laughed. "Yes, yes they were funny, actually. But after seeing them for days and days they don't get so funny anymore."

"I see…" Juliet nodded, and they walked in silence for a little while. It was a comfortable silence, though, for which Juliet was glad. Mark was a lovely fellow once he let you get to know him, and their shared secret only brought them closer together, instead of tearing them even further apart, as Juliet had at first worried about. Now Mark was her best friend too, and he was always there for both her and Peter, always planning surprises and always there to answer the phone whenever someone needed to talk. "So… are you dating any hot swimsuit models, yet?"

"Whoa… whoa my dear! Patience is crucial in such a delicate task. Luck is also needed in huge amounts, which I am currently lacking in. Help is greatly appreciated, and so if you see any hot swimsuit models, please remember to ask them to give me a call, or drop by the gallery," Mark replied with a grin. "Of course, you must make sure that they are not only pretty but smart, witty, funny and cool."

"High standards, sir." Juliet raised her eyebrows. "At this rate you'll never find anyone, because I can tell you, there's no one like that."

"You're like that," Mark said simply, and gave her a small smile. "Anyway, here we are, the gallery. So… I'll see you around."

"Right. See you around." Juliet gave him a quick hug, and then went on her way.

Mark stared after her, admiring her perfection. He could definitely see why Peter was so in love with her. She was everything a guy could possibly want; young, beautiful, sweet, amusing, entertaining, interesting, smart… the list just went on and on and on. _Peter's always had the luck with girls_, he thought to himself as he entered the gallery. Peter was always the one the girls like, while Mark was just the quiet best friend that met them all and said hi and then… disappeared. His relationships always ended up in a rather bad state, and he had almost given up on love when Juliet came along. Unfortunately, she had been Peter's girlfriend. And now she was Peter's wife. _Luck. Just something that I don't have._

He sat behind the counter, staring blankly into space, and then the telephone rang, jerking him out of his almost out-of-body state and slamming him back to the real world. He picked up the receiver with a sigh, expecting it to be some artist calling about the gallery again. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mark?"

"Yes, this is Mark speaking. May I know who it is?" he said in his most polite voice. The guy on the other end sounded rather professional.

"Oh, all right, good I got you. This is Karl," the voice said, relaxing into a not-so-professional tone.

"Karl?" _Karl? Do I know a Karl?_ Mark did not think so, and was about to ask the fellow to be more specific, when Karl went ahead to be more specific without having to be asked.

"You don't know me, I'm a colleague of Mia's. You probably saw me before… I was at the Christmas party the company had at the gallery."

_Karl… Karl… Karl…_ Mark still had no idea what the guy looked like, but the name was starting to ring a bell. "All right… and… erm… how may I help you?"

There was silence on the other end for a while, as if Karl had no idea what to say. Then he cleared his throat and proceeded, sounding rather embarrassed. "Erm… you… ah… you're a friend of Sarah's, right?"

_Sarah… _It all came back to him, all at once. Karl! Of course… Sarah had been in love with him for ages! Mark remembered now, that tall, tanned, bespectacled guy who had been dancing with her at the Christmas party. The guy that even the other guys begrudgingly admitted to be "a good looker". Sarah had left with him that night. Mark wondered what had happened. "Yes, I am. And…?"

Karl cleared his throat again. "I… I was wondering if you could let me know what she likes. I thought I would get her a present."

"Well, as her boyfriend, I should think that you'll know better than I what she likes."

"Ah… I'm not her boyfriend…" Once more, he cleared his throat. Mark was beginning to wonder if it was something he just did to fill up silences, or if he was losing his voice. "Nothing's happened between us."

"Ah." Mark nodded (as if Karl could see it over the phone). "Her brother, I suppose."

"Yup."

"Anyway, why ask me? I'm a guy, I can hardly know what women want. And I'm _definitely_ not good with women. Why don't you ask a woman? Like… erm… Mia?"

Karl laughed, finally sounding fully relaxed. "Let's just say I don't want to get closer to Mia than absolutely necessary."

Mark laughed too. _Hey, this guy isn't bad… pretty decent._ "I don't think you need to worry. She's perfectly in love with Harry, isn't she?"

"Still, I would like to be careful. The two of them had a very long talk that day and it seemed like Harry was very… honest… with her. She wasn't all that happy. I'm not sure if she's given up on him. The guys are all not taking any chances. Except for Colin; that guy's taking every chance he can get."

"Well, good luck to him then."

"So… can you help me?"

Mark thought for a moment. "Sure, why not. But I can't tell you right now what Sarah wants or needs or likes. How about I call her up or ask her to lunch someday and try to wheedle the information out of her for you?"

Karl gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks, thanks a lot, Mark. You're a lifesaver."

"That's me, always around to help." Mark hung up the phone, and laughed softly to himself. _Wow. I can't even get _myself_ a girlfriend and I'm already plunging into matchmaking. How wonderful._


	2. A Present For A Girl

**Chapter 2 : A Present For A Girl**

* * *

Mark leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers against the table, waiting for Sarah to turn up. She finally entered the restaurant, looking around for him. Seeing him, she gave him a smile and crossed the room. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's fine… it's just fine. I have plenty of time anyway."

Sarah frowned. "You know, Mark, the problem with you is that sometimes people can't tell if you're being sincere or sarcastic. Maybe that's why you can't get a girlfriend; the girls are just so confused."

"Wow, Sarah, you are really tactful," Mark said dryly. "And yes, that was sarcasm."

Sarah grinned. "Okay, thanks for telling me. Now, shall we order, or shall we just sit here?"

"Order," Mark agreed, raising his hand to get the attention of a waitress.

"Mark! Sarah!" A waitress exclaimed, hurrying over.

"Aurelia!" Sarah was definitely surprised to see her here. "It's so nice to see you! Definitely didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't expect to see you either," Aurelia replied with a smile.

Mark smiled, shaking Aurelia's hand. "I didn't expect you to work. Thought you'd be enjoying married life with Jamie at home, having some off time."

Aurelia laughed. "I'm used to working, and Jamie has quite a lot of writing to do at home anyway. So I thought I would just work, perhaps for a little while."

"Wow, you're English has really improved!" Sarah commented approvingly.

"Thank you, Jamie has helped a lot. His Portuguese is getting better as well," Aurelia replied, blushing under the praise.

"Well, it should, I heard that he was horrible at first," Mark said with a laugh. "Anyway, I guess we should place our orders now, and not take up too much of your time. I'm sure there are other tables desperate for your attention."

To that Aurelia agreed, and took their orders, lingering to chat a little longer before continuing with her work.

"She looks happy," Sarah remarked with a wistful smile. "Good for her."

"Yeah, I totally agree." Mark played around with his fork. "Anyway… how have you been?"

"Pretty good, pretty good. No complaints. Well, there are a few complaints. But they're not all that important. So, yeah, I'm good."

"That's good," Mark said awkwardly, trying to figure out just _how_ he could obtain the information he wanted. "I've been pretty good myself."

"Ah…" Sarah began, but was cut off when her mobile rang. "Ooh, excuse me." She held up a finger. "Hello? Oh, I'm not busy, what is it, sweetheart?"

_Her brother again._ Mark waited patiently as Sarah spoke with her brother, knowing better than to try and interrupt. After knowing her for about three years, he had grown used to these frequent phone calls. Sarah would never ignore a call from her brother, and he was always the first thing on her mind. Even Karl… even Karl came second.

Sarah finally hung up, and gave Mark a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry about that."

"That's all right," Mark said, waving away her apologies. "But, you know, Sarah, Michael's fine. He's being well taken care of, you don't have to worry about him so much. Sometimes I think you should have a little break, and just spend a week or something doing things that _you_ want. Michael will be fine."

Sarah sighed. "I know. But there are just some things that the doctors and nurses can't do for Michael. And he counts on me… he calls me for comfort, see? I just have to be there for him when he needs me."

"So you'll give up your whole life for him?"

"I'm… I… I'm not giving up anything. I'm fine, I'm fine, I really am," Sarah protested.

Mark just gave her a look, and then changed the subject. "All right then… well, anyway… I wanted to ask you, what's a good present for a girl?"

"Why on earth do you want to know?"

"Why on earth is it your business?" Mark replied with a grin. "I was just… erm… wondering."

Sarah glanced at him slyly. "You have a girlfriend, don't you?"

_It's going to be difficult otherwise_, Mark told himself. "Erm… yeah, yeah I have a girlfriend. Or am hoping to. Come on, help me out here, I need to impress!"

Sarah leaned back in her chair. "Well… since you're so desperate…" She tapped her forehead thoughtfully, then said, "Something pretty, pretty things always work."

"Specific?"

"Aw, come on, Mark. You work in an art gallery! You should know what pretty is."

"Guys have very different tastes in pretty things. For instance, I think that black Harley outside is really pretty. Do you?"

Sarah turned to look at the mentioned black Harley outside the restaurant. "No, I don't think it's pretty," she admitted. "And it's going to be towed away, if the owner doesn't leave soon. All right, all right, I get your point. Pretty… like a necklace, or a bracelet or something. Jewellery works well." Her look grew wistful, and dreamy, and Mark knew he was going to get what he wanted to know. "Just like that day… I saw this lovely pearl bracelet. The salesgirl said that lots of people go for the black pearl one because it looked sleek, but probably it was just because it was more expensive and they wanted to show off. I would have gone for the pink one myself… but…" She shook herself, and stopped, but that was all right. Mark already got the information he needed. "Look at me, rambling off on what I like. Sorry about that."

"No, no that's fine. Gave me some insight. So… jewellery, then? All righty."

Sarah looked at him pointedly. "That's it? Not even giving me a little bit of gossip? Come on, tell me, who's the girl?"

"No one you know," Mark said hastily. "Ah, here comes our food. Let's eat!"

The rest of the meal was spent gossip (mostly about Mia and Harry; that was always interesting) and Sarah answering her brother's calls.

"Well… thank you for lunch," Sarah said after they had said goodbye to Aurelia and were standing outside the restaurant.

"No problem. I wanted a favour from you anyway, it was only right that I paid for the meal."

"All right. Thanks anyway. I should get going now. Get back a little early, and get to work. Bye then."

"Bye, we'll do lunch again some other time."

"All right." Sarah turned right, and Mark turned left, both returning to work. For Sarah, there was a little anticipation because she would see Karl (more than two years, and still she couldn't get over seeing him). For Mark, it was just boredom. Oh, and that phone call to Karl.


	3. The Phone Call

_Apologies for not updating sooner, I was trying to come up with something and I was also writing chapters for my other fiction in progress._

* * *

**Chapter 3 : The Phone Call**

* * *

Karl leaned back in his chair and stretched. It wasn't very exciting being chief designer, especially when they were in that quiet period where there really wasn't any much to design. He closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair even further, and therefore almost fell off when his mobile rang. He managed to grab his desk before his chair flipped over, but banged his knee against the table. Looking out of his office to see if anyone had seen that most embarrassing moment, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

Karl frowned, not recognising the voice. "Who's 'me'?"

"Mark."

"Oh, right." Karl rubbed his bang knee, hoping that there wouldn't be much of a bruise. "How may I help you?"

Mark laughed. "I think it's more about how _I_ helped _you_. I just had lunch with Sarah."

Karl straightened, wondering what priceless information Mark had managed to obtain. "Oh, oh, _right_. Thanks a lot, Mark, you're a good guy. So… did you find out anything?"

"I found out that Jamie's wife Aurelia is working at that restaurant we went to, and that her English's much improved, and that…"

Karl cut him off. "Mark."

"Yes?"

"Please don't do that. Who's Jamie, anyway?"

Mark laughed again. "A friend of Sarah and I, you've never met him. I was just playing around with you. Maybe you could ask Jamie next time about buying stuff for women, he's had a lot more luck than me. Or you could learn Portuguese, that helped him loads…"

"_Mark…_" Karl moaned, but he smiled to himself. Mark was one amusing fellow.

"Okay, okay, _fine_. But you owe me, and it's gonna be much more than torture and gossip." Mark cleared his throat. "I have got very, _very_ good information. You are going to fall on your knees and kiss the floor I walk on."

Karl had no idea how he was going to do that since they were speaking over the phone, but he kept quiet and let Mark continue anyway, eager to find out what "very, _very_ good information" it was that Mark had got his hands on.

"She wants a pearl bracelet. A really pretty one. And don't go for the black ones even though they look sleek, because Sarah likes the pink ones better."

"Wow… that's detailed. How on earth did you get that out of her?"

"No, no, no way am I going to divulge my secret. I need to keep something to myself, man, or I'll lose my usefulness in this world."

"Fine, Mark, _fine_. But thanks anyway. I owe you a treat."

"You sure do. I'll call you up when I'm hungry. But for now, I'm stuffed, and I need to get back to work."

"Yeah, me too. Thanks again. Bye."

"Hey, Karl?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

Karl smiled. "Thanks, I'll probably need it. Good luck to you too."

"For what?"

"For… erm… you know… whatever."

"Okay."

Mark hung up the phone. Karl was a good guy to talk to. Crap, mostly, but still, talk. And that was fun. Peter didn't exactly have too much time to do such things anymore, now that he was happily married. And marriage just seemed to draw him into his job because he was "the head of a family" now. With just him and Juliet and no one else on the way in the near future, Mark hadn't yet figured out where the "family" came from, but Peter was happy, and so he guessed that all was going good.

The gallery was silent, with just a few people moving about looking at the pieces that Mark stared at day in, day out. He couldn't wait to change the artwork, so he would have something new to stare at day in, day out. He was seriously considering changing careers, but he had no idea what he could do. Maybe he could make greeting cards. _Yeah, right_, he thought. _And that is so going to help me pay my rent._ He could play the guitar, somewhat. Maybe he could join a band that would get famous and then he'd be a celebrity. _That would bring me one step closer to the swimsuit models._ The only problem was that his guitar was in his parents' place in the countryside, and he had a sneaky feeling that they'd given it to his teenage cousin, Bratty Bob. Well, his name was Bob. The 'Bratty' part had been an add-on courtesy of Mark.

Mark continued on with his fantasies about alternative careers, and did not notice at all when Juliet sauntered into the gallery. She stood before him for ages, but he didn't even see her, too absorbed in exploring every single room of his little castle in the air. "Hello?" she finally said. "Mark, you in there?"

Mark jumped. "Oh, Juliet," he gasped. "You gave me a fright."

"I don't see how I could have done that, I was standing in front of you for so long. You gave _me_ a fright, though. I thought you'd died with your eyes open."

"Hardy har har, Juliet. Hardy har har." Mark stood up and leaned against the counter. "So… what are you doing here?"

Juliet took two tickets out of her jacket pocket. "I was planning to surprise Peter with movie tickets tonight, but he has to work late. I told him about it, and he said to ask you. So I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"That's it!" Mark exclaimed triumphantly.

"That's what?" Juliet asked, confused.

"The alternative career I was thinking of," Mark explained. "I left out 'escort'."

"I thought it was a female job."

Mark winked. "I'm sure there are many more desperate women out there, like yourself, who will gladly pay for my valuable company."

Juliet whacked his arm playfully. "Shut up, Mark." Then she waved the tickets in front of him. "Eight o' clock. You coming?"

Mark pretended to think, then grinned. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming. It's free, isn't it?"

"You're such a cheapskate, you know?" Juliet said, laughing.

Mark nodded in agreement. "I know, that's why I do favours for so many people. You get plenty of free stuff if you're nice to people."


	4. The Pretty Pink Pearl Bracelet

**Chapter 4 : The Pretty Pink Pearl Bracelet**

* * *

Mark fumbled with his keys and yanked the door open, darting towards the phone. "Hello?"

"Mark, it's Sarah."

"Oh, hello. What is it?"

There was a slight hesitation. "Mark… do you remember when I told you that I wanted a pretty pink pearl bracelet?"

"Yeah, what about it?" _So… Karl's found it._ Mark carried the cordless phone over to the door and shut it.

"Today, after lunch, I found a little gift on my table, and it was a pretty pink pearl bracelet. There wasn't a card on it or anything."

"Yes, and so…?"

"Erm… Mark, am I the girl you hope to make your girlfriend?"

Mark's jaw dropped. _Karl, what on Earth have you done?_ "Sarah… I…"

He was interrupted. "Oh, wait, my phone's ringing, I think it's my brother. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Sarah hung up before he could say anymore.

Mark paced around his living room, then picked up the phone again and dialled Karl's office number, hoping the guy worked late. Evidently he did, as he answered after the second ring. "Hello?"

"Karl, it's Mark. So, you got Sarah the present, huh?"

"Yes, I did. Did she call you and tell you about it? Does she like it?"

"You didn't say it was from you."

"No. I wanted to, but I kind of… erm… chickened out at the last minute. What about it?"

"You know, Karl, now she thinks that it's from me."

"Oh, God."

"Exactly, Karl, exactly. 'Oh, God'. What am I supposed to tell her? She thinks that I want her to be my girlfriend or something!" Mark paused for breath. "So, you _have_ to tell her that the gift is from you, or else I'll either have to _really_ date her, which I don't exactly want to do because we're fine as friends, or I'll be rejected for a move I didn't even make! And seriously, I am in no need for any rejections right now."

Karl sighed. "All right, Mark, I'll find a way to tell her."

"You better do, Karl. For my sake, if not for yours. Bye now." Mark hung up the phone before Karl could make a reply, and then sat down at the table, his head in his hands. _See what happens, Mark? See what happens when you're so eager to be the hero of the day? You create a huge mess, and trap yourself right in the middle of it!_ He sighed. He sure hoped that Karl would tell Sarah the truth. She would be happy, that Mark was sure of. The rest of the situation involving Sarah's brother was no longer Mark's problem. But right now, he was going to have a huge problem if Karl didn't tell Sarah soon.

The phone rang again. Mark sighed and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me again. Sarah."

Mark took a deep breath. "Look, Sarah…"

"Thanks, Mark. I really like the bracelet; it was very sweet of you. But I never knew that… that… you… you had feelings for me."

"Sarah…"

"I just never expected it, never thought about it…"

"Sarah," Mark interrupted. "Please, let me finish. I didn't give you that bracelet. I can't tell you who did, but it wasn't me. You can definitely trust me on that."

"Why can't you tell me who gave me that bracelet? You _must_ know. That's why you wanted to know what women wanted, isn't it? You were helping someone out. Who is it, Mark? Tell me."

"No," Mark replied firmly. "I can't tell you. But I assure you that you will find out. All right, Sarah? I have to go now. I'll speak to you some other time, okay? Bye."

Mark trudged over to the couch and collapsed on it. _Why do I always seem to be in difficult situations?_ He closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted now was for the phone to ring. Hopefully it wouldn't ring again, or he might be obliged to smash it. He was so exhausted, both from work and being helpful.

_I'm helping Karl and Sarah get together, but I myself am doing extremely poorly on the relationships level_. Of all the lovely women in London, he just _had_ to go and fall in love with the unattainable one. But he had met Juliet first. _Okay, that's not a fair thing to say,_ he told himself. It was true that he had met her first. He'd turned a corner too sharply and split coffee over her jacket, which had led to awkward apologies and making a complete fool out of himself. He had then walked away, telling himself that it was all right because he would never, ever see her again, and thus did not have to be so embarrassed.

Of course, he met her again a month later, when she just started dating Pete. Just his luck. But she had been so gracious about it, even if he had been incredibly embarrassed. Perhaps it was then when he truly started to fall for her. Her laughter was contagious, and she always had something nice to say about people. She was unique in every way, and he suddenly could not look at any other woman without comparing them to Juliet. And somehow, they always fell short. That was why he hadn't dated for such a long time. He couldn't find anyone who could match up to Juliet.

_At this rate, I might as well become a monk. There wouldn't be all _that_ much of a difference,_ he thought dryly.

Kicking off his shoes, he leaned his head back. _Another lonely night. As usual._

* * *

Karl stopped his car at the red light, and sat patiently, waiting for it to turn green again. He thought over Mark's words, and sighed. He knew that he had to tell Sarah the truth, but he still couldn't get the nerve up. He didn't understand why either. It wasn't a secret that Sarah liked him, and now he knew that he liked her too. _So what's wrong?_

He kind of knew the problem. He was worried about Sarah's brother. Sarah was so devoted to her brother, and there was nothing she wouldn't give up for him. Karl was worried that he would get rejected if he tried to take one more step closer to Sarah. And he was also worried that she had simply not forgiven him for asking her not to answer her brother's call that night.

The light turned green, and he was on his way again. "I _have_ to tell her," he said to himself firmly. "I must tell her as soon as possible. I owe it to Mark, and to myself."

If only it was that easy. __


	5. The Confession

_Thanks for all the lovely reviews! =0) I'm glad people like this story because I enjoy writing it! Haven't been writing anything for quite a well, though, because of school and stuff and also because of every writer's demon – writer's block. It's evil, I swear!_

* * *

**Chapter 5 : The Confession**

* * *

Sarah stared at her mobile phone, lying innocently on her bed. What did Mark mean? Who could have given her the bracelet, if not him? He was the only one who knew that she wanted it. She had told him herself. Try as she might, she could think of no other possibility.

Perhaps he was just nervous and lying. That could be possible, couldn't it?

* * *

Karl lay in bed with the nightlight on, staring at the ceiling. "How on earth do you tell a girl you love her, when the last time you tried she just slipped through your fingers?" he said aloud. Nothing happened, and he simply continued staring at the shadows that were cast on the ceiling. Unable to sleep, he rehearsed words in his mind, running through them over and over and over again, swapping words and rephrasing sentences, never satisfied. No matter how he put it, everything that he wanted to say sounded horrible and tacky. Sarah would never go for it.

Getting into a rather foul mood, he reached over and turned off the nightlight, plunging the room into darkness. "Good night, Karl, you idiot," he said, turning over and burying his face in the pillow.

* * *

_Sarah, have you ever done anything that you really, really regret? Something that makes you want to kick yourself whenever you think about it? I have done something like that. It happened that night, when I let you go. I shouldn't have. I should have loved you anyway, despite any complications, any interruptions. And now all I ask is that you forgive me, give me one more chance. I cannot promise you forever, but I can promise you that I will love you with all my heart, and that I will do anything, everything to make you happy. I bought you that bracelet, to prove to you how sorry I am, and how much I want another chance. Please, Sarah, give me another chance._

* * *

Karl peered out of his office, seeing Sarah sit down at her desk, putting her phone next to her computer. She was looking so pretty today, with her hair down, and just a hint of makeup. She leaned back in her chair, switching on the computer. Mia passed by her desk, and she smiled as they greeted each other.

_Now's a good time, Karl. You know it. You've been rehearsing that speech the whole morning_, he told himself. He stood up, and then sat down again, uncertain if this was the best time. After all, it _was_ the morning. Everyone was just coming to work. Maybe it wasn't the perfect time to tell her.

_When, then?_

He sighed, frustrated. He didn't have any answers. One question answered was always replaced with a new one, until he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. Why on earth did things have to be so difficult and confusing? Couldn't things just go smoothly, just once? Was that too much to ask?

Evidently it was.

Well, he wasn't going to get any work done if he didn't at least _try_ to do something about the matter. Sighing once more, he stood up and opened the door of his office. Squaring his shoulders, he walked purposefully to Sarah's desk.

Sarah looked up from her work, practically staring at him, wondering what it was that was going to happen. _Oh my goodness, he's actually going to talk to me_, something at the back of her mind squealed. She smoothed her skirt nervously. There was nothing to do but wait and see what he was planning to do, and try not to seem a complete idiot.

Karl walked right up to her and stood before her, clearing his throat. "Erm… hi," he managed to say.

"Hi."

_Great, now what?_ He cleared his throat again. "Could I… could I take you out for lunch later?" That would be a lovely time to tell her the truth. Hopefully she wouldn't be doing anything about Mark before then, or Mark would probably just have him murdered. A bullet through the window or something.

Sarah's eyes widened. _That_ had been unexpected. Unconsciously, she gripped her skirt, searching for a way to answer that wouldn't make her seem too desperate. "Erm… ah… sure, that would be nice," she said lamely, mentally kicking herself. _God, Sarah, can't you even do yourself a favour and _seem_ interesting?_

Karl nodded, relieved. "Good, so… I'll speak to you later then, all right?"

"All right," Sarah agreed. "Speak to you later." Smiling shyly at him, she turned back to her computer.

Karl looked at her for a little longer, then shook himself and walked back to his office. He was already thinking about where he would bring her for lunch.

* * *

Sarah allowed herself a glance at Karl in his office, and smiled dreamily. Going out for lunch with Karl… it had been something that she had thought she could only dream of, after that night. She wondered idly if he meant it as a type of date, letting her mind wander.

She was already naming their lovely children, when she was startled by someone clearing his throat. Colin stood right in front of her. He waved his hand in front of her face, his signature silly grin on his face. "Hey, is anyone in there?" He tossed her a sandwich. "Doing the ladies' rounds again."

"Right," she said, giving him a smile back. Sarah was the only woman in the whole office who was nice to Colin. Ironically, she was also the only one he never tried to go after. Perhaps he knew that she was in love with Karl and so it was useless anyway. Or maybe he figured that if he tried going any further with her he'd only get a slap in the face and would lose the only female friend he had.

"So, what were you daydreaming about, huh?" Colin asked, leaning against her desk. "Tell me anything, everything. Especially if it has something to do with sex."

Sarah shrieked and smacked Colin with a folder lying on the desk. "Colin, you are a pervert!"

"Shush, Sarah! Don't let Mia hear you!" Colin hissed, putting a finger to his lips, trying to dodge Sarah's second swipe at him. "Come on, Sarah, I'm a guy!"

"A very warped guy," Sarah remarked, turning away from him with a smile. "Now, run along and finish your round. And be careful, I don't think that was the last whacking you'd get in the office this morning. As usual."

Colin clucked his tongue and shook his head, but obeyed.

Sarah chuckled and turned back to her work once more, trying hard to push everything out of her mind until lunchtime.

* * *

Karl was in trouble.

It was already lunchtime, and he still didn't know where to take Sarah for lunch. Usually he just ate at the little shop down the street, but he wanted to bring her somewhere nice, somewhere she liked. _Where's that?_ He had absolutely no idea.

"Oh well, I have to do this," he said to no one in particular as he pushed open his office door and approached her desk once more. She looked up from her computer and stood up with a smile, picking up her handbag.

He returned her smile nervously, desperately trying to think of somewhere nice to take her.

She saved him by speaking first. "A friend of mine works in this restaurant not too far away. Would you like to go there?"

"Sure, of course," he replied, relieved. "That would be nice. Do you want to take the car or just walk?"

"Walking would be fine." Sarah smiled again and stepped out from behind the desk. They left the together, waving to Harry in his office as they passed by.

* * *

"Sarah!" Aurelia came over to give Sarah a hug as she stepped into the restaurant.

Sarah returned the hug with a smile. "Hello, Aurelia, it's great to see you again. How are you and Jamie?"

"Jamie's great, he's already working on the end of his book."

Sarah gestured to Karl. "Aurelia, this is Karl. Karl, Aurelia."

Karl remembered Mark mentioning her before, and smiled warmly as he shook her hand. "A pleasure to meet you."

Aurelia smiled, giving Sarah a knowing nod that made Karl's face heat up. _I wonder what she thinks about us._ "Come, I'll show the two of you to a table."

Aurelia seemed to make it her personal responsibility to make sure that Karl and Sarah had everything. When she was finally satisfied that they had their food, and drinks, and everything else that one could possibly want in a restaurant, she politely excused herself, leaving them alone.

Karl was just about to speak when Sarah's phone rang. She took her phone out of her bag, and shot him an apologetic glance, her finger over the "answer" button. He smiled, holding up his hands. "Go ahead, it's all right."

"Thanks," she whispered, answering the call. "Hello? Oh sweetheart, hi. No, no I'm not busy, what is it?"

She listened patiently for a while, glancing occasionally at Karl. He just nodded understandingly. _It's her brother. I can't ask her to abandon her brother for me._

"That's all right, love, that's fine," she said soothingly. "All right, you go and watch TV now. I'll see you in the weekend, okay? Bye, dear." She hung up the phone, looking at Karl. "I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine," he said graciously. "How is he?"

"Good, he's fine." Sarah nodded. "Now… did you want to say something to me?"

Karl cleared his throat. He had the whole speech figured out. All he had to do was just open his mouth to say it. And so he did open his mouth… and promptly forgot everything he had planned. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.

"Yes?"

Karl looked up sharply, thanking his lucky stars that Sarah hadn't heard him curse. "Erm… ah…" he began very inarticulately. "Eh… I need to talk to you about the… um… present."

Sarah's eyes widened. "Was that… was that… _you_?"

Karl nodded soundlessly, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. He felt as if the whole English language had departed from his brain.

"You gave me the bracelet?" Sarah gasped. "But how… how…" Her eyes grew even bigger at the realisation. "You asked Mark for help?"

Once again, Karl nodded, but this time he managed to find the English language lurking about between his ears. "I called up the gallery he was working in and asked him to help me. I didn't know whom else to ask; I couldn't ask anyone in the office. And Mark was very willing to help me out. I just backed out of writing my name on that gift. I hope I didn't give you too much of a shock…"

"I thought Mark liked me," Sarah said with a stunned laugh.

"You aren't disappointed that it wasn't him, are you?" Karl asked worriedly. "I really want to apologise about that… that night… I shouldn't have been so mean, I should have understood… and… and…" He stopped and swallowed. "I want to know if you would forgive me, and let us start over."

Sarah sat silently for what seemed an eternity, thinking. This was even more unexpected than the gift. _Karl wants to start something with _me_?_ That seemed too much of a dream come true. Karl was watching her anxiously, wondering what her response would be. Didn't he know that there was only one response? She looked up, meeting his eyes, and a smile spread across her face. "There was one time when I could only see this moment in a dream. Now that it's a reality, you don't think I'd turn it down, do you?"


	6. An Introduction

**Chapter 6 : An Introduction**

* * *

The car pulled up in front of Mark's building, and he got in, a grin on his face. He passed the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates to Juliet. "Happy birthday, Juliet," he said.

"Aw, you didn't have to," Juliet replied, but she was evidently pleased all the same.

"Dang, Mark, I think your present just beat mine on the Sweetness Meter," Peter said jokingly.

From the backseat, Mark punched his best friend playfully on the arm. "Can't be letting you beat me all the time now, can I?" he said with a grin. Settling back in his seat, he said, "Is anyone else coming on to this lovely dinner feast, or will it be just the sweet couple and the regular gooseberry?"

"Sarah said she'll be meeting us there," Juliet said. "With her boyfriend, I think. And Jamie, with Aurelia."

_Karl._ Mark grinned. "Ah, so it'll be _three_ sweet couples and the regular gooseberry."

"Yeah, Mark, you should find yourself a nice girl," Peter teased. "Come on, I just don't believe that no girl has caught your eye."

Juliet's eyes flickered to the rear-view mirror, and saw that Mark was staring at her through the mirror. She gave him a quick, embarrassed smile, and nothing else needed to be said. It was their secret, and no one else's. He pulled his gaze away from the mirror and forced a laugh. "Sorry to disappoint, Pete, but I'm afraid that I'm extremely single and extremely alone. And with the way things are going, I'll be staying that way for quite awhile. So get used to it, buddy."

Peter laughed and nodded. "All right, mate, whatever you say."

* * *

Jamie and Aurelia were already there when they arrived at the hotel, waiting for the rest in the lobby. There was the regular exchange of happy greetings and hugs, and they settled down to wait for Sarah and "her boyfriend" (only Aurelia and Mark knew who "her boyfriend" was), before entering the restaurant together.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon they heard a familiar voice, and saw Sarah walking arm-in-arm with a tall, dark-haired man, laughing together. She saw them, and waved. Mark recognised the man as Karl immediately, and grinned. _Finally, we get to meet properly._

"Happy birthday, Juliet," Sarah said, passing Juliet her present. "That's from us." She turned to smile at everyone. "Everyone, this is Karl. Karl, this is Peter, Juliet the birthday girl, Jamie, Aurelia (whom you've already met), and your little helper Mark."

Mark laughed. Only three of them knew what Sarah meant. "Glad to meet you for real at last," he said, shaking Karl's hand. "Thought that you and I were going to be ghosts to each other forever."

"So you two already know each other?" Juliet seemed surprised.

"Long story," Karl said.

"Just another example of what I should be made a saint," Mark added with a playful grin.

Everyone laughed and Juliet rolled her eyes. "Not another one of _those_," she said dryly. "Come, let's all go in. It's pointless standing out here in the lobby the whole evening." She took her husband's hand and led the way.

* * *

The meal was delicious, and there were always jokes going around, but Mark still couldn't help feeling a little depressed. He wasn't just any gooseberry; he was the _champion_ gooseberry. The one Single in the company of not one, not two, but _three_ Happy Couples. It was sad and depressing in a Bridget Jones-type of way. But even Bridget Jones had some men interested in her. Mark was The Lonely Loser.

The sound of the piano distracted him from his "I'm-going-to-spend-my-life-alone-and-die-and-no-one-will-even-know" thoughts, and he turned to find the source. There, at one corner of the restaurant, not far from their table, was a piano, and a young woman with wavy dirty-blonde hair was playing. Conversations were put on hold as people stopped to listen for a moment, and she began to sing.

Her voice was husky, and strong, and for awhile the whole restaurant just sat entranced, listening to her. Then, after the initial "shock" was over, conversations were continued, and people went back to eating and chatting again. But not Mark. He kept his silence, listening to her sing and play. The song was beautiful, the playing was beautiful, her voice was beautiful. And it was able to make him forget that he was lonely.

He spent the rest of the dinner listening to her, occasionally throwing a comment or two into the conversations of his friends to show that he was still with them. But the girl at the piano had most of his attention.

Mark never really knew how long it had been, but eventually she stopped playing, and left the piano, smiling at the people, thanking them for their applause. Mark watched as the waitresses cleared away their plates, and stood up with the rest of his friends. "Well, it's time to go now," Peter said. "Hopefully we can more of such fantastic gatherings. Very nice meeting you, Karl."

The regular niceties were exchanged once more, with promises to meet again soon. Karl approached Mark. "Hey, I still owe you a meal, don't I?"

Mark grinned. "You sure do. Tell you what, I'll call you when I think of something I want you to do for me."

Karl agreed, and left with Sarah. _Probably off to have their own date or something_, Mark thought.

"Mark? You planning to stay in this restaurant forever?"

Mark turned his attention to Peter, standing with his arm around Juliet's waist. Suddenly he couldn't help staring at that arm, and felt that if he was going to be stuck with a Happy Couple for a minute more, he'd scream, or kill himself. He forced a smile and shook his head. "You two can go on home. I think I'll walk around a little, get some fresh cool air and then head on home myself."

Juliet frowned. "You sure? It's not trouble to drop you home, you know."

"I'll be fine," Mark insisted. "Go on, the two of you."

Nothing Peter or Juliet said could move him, and they finally left him, wondering what it was he was up to. But the truth was that he was up to absolutely nothing. And he had no idea what he was going to do. Walking about of the hotel, he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket, keeping his head down. He would go wherever his feet took him. Even if he got hopelessly lost (which was unlikely), he had enough money to get a taxi home anyway.

He walked on, his eyes glued to the ground, absorbed in his own pathetic thoughts. He did not even realise that there was someone walking towards him until and he banged straight into her. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry…" he said hurriedly, grabbing her arm and hastily trying to help her up. "It's all my…" The words died on his tongue when he saw her face. She was the one who was performing at the restaurant. Up close, he saw that her eyes were a greyish-blue, a most unique colour.

She smiled at him kindly. "It's all right, no problem at all," she said cheerfully. Seeing the look on his face, she asked, "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Oh, no, we haven't. But I was at the restaurant you performed at just now." Mark gave her a smile. "I think you are a fantastic performer."

Her smiled widened, and she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Thanks," she said, flattered. "No one's ever told me that before. I don't think anyone's ever really listened."

Mark was surprised to hear that. He couldn't imagine anyone _not_ wanting to listen to her. "Well, I listened today, and I think you were really great," he told her sincerely. "And I'm sure that there are actually other people who have listened to you, and they probably think that you're very talented as well, but just didn't have the chance to tell you." He extended his hand. "I'm Mark, by the way."

She shook his hand firmly. "I'm Daniella."


	7. Mark And Daniella

**Chapter 7 : Mark and Daniella**

* * *

Daniella. That was a nice name. In fact, it was a very pretty name. Mark smiled at her, forgetting that he was still holding on to her hand.

Daniella grinned at him good-naturedly. "You planning to hold on to me for eternity?" she joked, shaking his hand again.

Mark shook himself and dropped her hand. "Oops, I'm so sorry…" he started to say again, embarrassed.

Daniella started to laugh. "That's fine, it's nice to have a fan," she said. "Well, I should be going now, so maybe I'll see you again." With a wave, she began to walk away.

Mark stared after her for a moment, a thought coming to his mind. It would be a bold move, he knew, but his brain told him that it was something he wanted to do, or he would spend his days regretting it. _You don't know where you're going, anyway_, he said to himself. _It's not going to hurt anyone. Why not? _Finally obeying his mind, he began to follow Daniella, half-jogging to catch up with her.

He fell into step with her and flashed her a grin. "I have no idea where I was planning to go, so I thought that maybe I'd accompany you and make sure that no one bowls you over," he said. Outside he looked calm and confident, as if he did things like that every single day, but inside he was a mess. This was the first time he had ever tried something like that with a woman he had just met. A frown crossed his face for a moment. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, if you do… I could just… I could…"

She laughed again, and shook her head. "No, I don't mind. In fact, it's very kind of you to. I wouldn't like to be knocked down _again_. You could be my buffer zone."

Mark agreed with a laugh, and they walked down the street side by side.

* * *

They ended up at a pub, where Daniella was meeting a friend. Daniella was early, so they sat down at the counter. "So… Daniella… that's a pretty name," Mark said. After the words were out of his mouth, he mentally kicked himself. _Oh yes, what great conversation._

"Hardly anyone calls me Daniella. It _is_ a pretty name, but after awhile it just gets _too_ pretty, you know? Call me Dani," she said. "So, Mark, you know what I do, but what do _you _do?"

"I run an art gallery," he told her. _Great, how boring can I possibly _get

Evidently she didn't think it was boring. Her eyes widened. "That's cool. I always thought that it would be interesting to have an art gallery. I mean, all those very artistic and abstract things all stuffed into one big space." She winced. "That doesn't sound very smart, does it?"

Mark laughed. "Nope, it doesn't sound very smart, but trust me, it's not the dumbest thing ever either. I've heard much worse." _Mostly coming from my own mouth._ He shook his head. "It's not _that_ cool to run an art gallery, actually. It gets boring after awhile, just sitting around and staring at the art piece. I mean, I love art, of course, but after awhile you just want…"

"…Something more to do," Dani finished for him.

He gave her another smile. "Exactly. Something more to do."

Dani nodded. "So why don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you find something more to do?" Dani explained. "I'm sure you could always find something that would satisfy you. I mean, you seem like a smart, decent guy to me. What's the problem?"

Mark shook his head. "I don't know. I say that I want something more, but I'm not sure what more I want. I have a stable job, yeah, and it's all great and everything, but something's missing and I don't know what. So how can I do something about it when I don't even know what 'it' is?"

Dani shrugged. "You should just go out there and _try_ something. Before performing at the restaurant I was a secretary for a year, if you can believe it. It was a good job too, with a good boss and everything, but I thought that I wanted something new, and so I left. Now I've found something I'm happy with for now, and I'll just stick with it until I want to start looking for something new again. You could do that too. I mean, you only have one life."

"Wow… that's very brave," Mark marvelled. "Unfortunately for me, I'm not so gutsy. Takes me a long time to decide to do something out of the ordinary."

"What, like walking a stranger to a pub and then sitting down to a drink with her?" Dani's eyes twinkled as she took at sip of her drink.

Mark laughed despite himself. "Well, this is something _very_ out of the ordinary, I suppose. But I don't know if this courage will last for very long. By the time I get home, I'll probably be back to thinking about a million ways to keep from dying of boredom at the job I will end up keeping for the rest of my life."

Dani shook her head confidently. "Nope, you won't keep the job for the rest of you life," she said with a great amount of certainty. "One day you're going to wake up and know that I'm right, and you'll make a change."

"Maybe."

* * *

Mark swung open his door and shut it behind him. Glancing up at the clock, he noted that it was eleven-thirty. He'd be out longer than he had thought.

After Dani's friend had turned up, he had bid her goodbye and went on his way. He had wandered about, looking at the shop windows and stopping to buy himself a late-night snack: ice cream. It didn't matter that it was still cold out, and the ice cream had him positively frozen.

Taking off his jacket, he tossed it onto the couch and sat down, leaning his head back. Today was a nice day. And it was the first time he had spoken to a single woman (Sarah before getting together with Karl excluded) in a very long time. And Dani was a nice person, easy-going and fun. She seemed to have no worries about life, a free spirit wandering about. He wished he could be like her, never worrying about her job, or what life had in store for her. He was _always_ wondering what was round the corner, always thinking about what would happen in the future, when the answer was simply a big, fat _NOTHING_.

He sighed. Oh well. Dani had promised to stop by the gallery someday, so maybe he would see her again soon.


	8. Friends Like You

_I haven't written this for such a long time and for that I'm so sorry!  
Ugh, feeling so sick now. BLEH!_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 8 : Friends Like You**

* * *

"Heya there!" A pair of hands slapped onto the counter, making Mark jump up, dropping his book. He looked up as he bent to pick up his book, and saw Dani grinning down at him.

"Hi," he said, standing up and putting the book on the counter. "I thought you'd forgotten about your promise."

"I wouldn't forget something like that," Dani said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, I love art."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Honestly?"

Dani gave him a sheepish grin. "Okay, so no. I've never been in an art gallery before. Happy now?"

"Yes, that's much better. This way, it makes me feel superior, you understand?" Mark joked. "Now, would you like a guided tour of this modest area, or would you like to get out of here?"

"Getting out of here sounds good," Dani said with a grin. "Let's just walk and see where our feet take us."

"All right, but as long as we get back in time," Mark said. "I might be longing for a different life, but for now, I would still like to keep this job."

"Fine, Mr. Careful."

Dani leaned against the glass waiting as Mark locked the doors. "Come on then, let's go," he said, straightening.

"So… don't you have any friends who drop in and visit you on your seemingly boring job?" Dani asked.

Mark shrugged. "They drop by whenever they're free. Sometimes they call. Well, Peter calls and Juliet drops by."

"Who are they?"

"Peter's my best friend; we go way back. Juliet's his wife. We're all really good friends."

"Wow, that's nice. I can't even get along very well with my brother-in-law. Luckily and unluckily, he and my sister moved to New York a year ago. So any communication with dear old Ed is kept to a minimum."

Mark laughed. "I think it has something to do with relatives. You can get along fine with a person _until _he or she becomes part of the family. For example, my aunt Patricia. Liked her when she was Patricia, didn't really like her anymore when she became Aunt Patricia. I don't understand it, but it just seems different."

Dani nodded. "I understand. Maybe it's a subconscious desire to rebel or something. Because you're supposed to like your relatives, you just want to rebel and _not_ like them."

"People are weird."

"I agree."

"You're not _that_ weird, though."

"That's because you don't really know me well yet."

Dani raised an eyebrow as they rounded the corner. "Are you saying that soon I'll run away screaming for help?"

"Well… I hope I'm not that bad."

"We'll see."

Their amiable chatter lasted all the way to the café they decided to stop at. As Mark put down the tray with their sandwiches and coffee, Dani looked at him and said, "What do you do when you're bored but stuck at the gallery?"

He picked up his sandwich and thought for a moment. What _did_ he do? "I daydream a lot," he finally said. "Yup, lots and lots of daydreaming. Could probably write a book out of all those dreams."

"So why don't you?"

"What?"

Dani shrugged and took a bite of her tuna sandwich. "Why don't you write a book? If you have something to put in it, I'm sure someone's going to read it. I'm sure you can come up with something that people can relate to. You could call the book 'A Bored Man's Thoughts' or something."

"Yes, that sounds like a real bestseller," Mark said dryly.

"It's only a suggestion. What else?"

"I call up my friends and bother them. But not too often or I wouldn't have any friends left for the other days when I get bored." Mark hesitated. "And… I draw a bit."

"Wow. I'd like to see your drawings. They must be pretty good. I mean, if you run an art gallery you must have quite an eye for what's good."

Mark shook his head with a laugh. "On the contrary. Having an eye for art and running a gallery doesn't have much to do with one's skill at drawing. I don't see my work hanging up on any wall at any time. And I usually just crush them and throw them away at the end of the day, anyway."

"That's a pity. You have to keep some for me sometime. Promise?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Then I'll keep some." Mark looked around as he took a sip of his coffee and notice two people he knew. Karl and Sarah were walking down the street across the road, hand in hand.

Dani followed his gaze. "Do you know them?"

"Yeah, they were at the dinner with me a week ago, at the hotel where you're playing."

"Do you want to call them over?"

"Nah… leave them together. They look perfectly satisfied this way." Mark's eyes followed them. Karl was whispering something in Sarah's ear, and she was giving him a huge grin, looking so wonderfully happy with how her life was going. Seeing them together brought a smile to Mark's face, and he was really glad that he had played a part in bringing them together again. Perhaps it was a feeling that was brought on with the fact that he suddenly didn't feel like The Lonely Loser anymore, but it really _did_ feel good.

Dani waved a hand before his face, snapping him back to reality. "Hello there?"

"Sorry, was just thinking about something," he said, taking a quick sip of his coffee. "Doesn't it just feel great to see a happy couple like them?"

Dani smiled. "Yes, yes it is. I think it's just great when you've found someone special." She put down her cup. "I'm always grateful for James."

_Thud._ That was probably the sound Mark's heart made when he heard that. "James?" he asked, trying to look as if everything was perfectly fine. _Oh, here we go again Mark! Always picking the unavailable ones._

"Yeah, my boyfriend James. But I don't see him very much anymore. He works in this major advertising firm and he's always going around for meetings or being out of town or stuff like that."

"Oh." Mark tried to hide his disappointment. "That must be miserable for you."

"Yes, it can be horrible," Dani agreed. Then she smiled. "But hey, I have friends to get me through, don't I? Friends like you."


	9. Holding On

**Chapter 9 : Holding On**

* * *

Mark slammed the door shut and stalked straight to his bedroom, letting himself flop face-first into the bed. Why did he always _have_ to pick girls who weren't available? Did he do something horrible in his past life? Maybe it was his destiny to be a Lonely Loser for the rest of his life. The biggest fool to ever walk the face of the earth.

It would be an understatement to say that he was in a bad mood.

He groaned. He was going to need to find some release. Stomping over to the telephone, he dialled Peter and Juliet's number.

Juliet answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Juliet, it's Mark."

"Oh hi, Mark! What can I do for you?"

"Let's elope and move to the Maldives."

"Ah. What happened to you, Mark?"

"Could I pop over? I'm in need of a rather large venting session."

Juliet's voice took on a really apologetic tone. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mark, I would love for you to come over, but Peter's meeting me for a movie after work. I was just about to step out. If you want I could call him and ask him to get an extra ticket for you, though."

_Ah… sweet romance._ "No, that's fine. Thanks anyway, Juliet. You go along and have fun with Peter. You should. Tell him that he works too hard sometimes."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine. I was just being a little childish and whiny. You run along and have a good time."

"All right then, Mark. I'll call you later."

"That'd be nice. Talk to you later then."

He hung up the phone feeling not much better. In fact, he felt even more a Lonely Loser. This was definitely _not_ turning out well. Who else could he call? There was Mia, but he wasn't about to go and call her. She'd come up with ways for him to steal Dani from her boyfriend, and knowing her, she would come up with rather extreme ideas, just short of killing the guy. So who else could he call? He picked up his phone and walked over to his address book. It wasn't very full. Opening it randomly, he let his eyes fall on the first name.

Karl.

All right, then.

"Hello?"

"Hey Karl. Mark here. Erm… are you busy?"

"Nope, I'm free. So, what's up?"

"Nothing much, actually. Just felt like I needed a rant."

"Ah, I understand. Would you like go for a drink or something? I could meet you there."

Mark smiled. _Finally._ "Oh that would be just great. Just the thing I need. Where would you like to meet?"

* * *

Karl sat at the bar, waiting for Mark to turn up. He was glad that Mark had called. He had needed an excuse to get out of the house too, and had just been trying to find one when the phone rang.

Things with Sarah were going pretty well, but her brother was still constantly calling up. He knew that he shouldn't be mean and grudge Michael the attention that he needed from his sister, but even a saint would have to admit that it was rather irritating if the phone was ringing every five to ten minutes. He didn't want to ask Sarah to switch her phone off because that had been the cause of the initial problem. And he understood that he couldn't just demand that she neglect her brother for him. At the end of the day, he was just a boyfriend, but Michael was her family. Her only family.

But still, it was hard.

He waved as Mark entered the pub. A look of relief broke over Mark's face as he came towards Karl. Karl smiled and took a drink. _Right. I won't burden Mark with my problems just yet. He was the one who needed the vent, not me. So we'll have to listen to Mark first._

"Gosh, you can't possibly imagine how glad I am that you're free," Mark said, sitting down next to him. "I was going crazy at home."

"So was I," Karl replied. "So, what do you need to vent about?"

Mark cleared his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable now he finally had a chance to talk about it. "Do you remember the singer at the hotel we celebrated Juliet's birthday at?"

"Yes, of course I do. She was great." Karl wondered why Mark was suddenly talking about her. Could there be something going on?

"Well, after the meal, I was out walking alone when I banged into her. We introduced ourselves and ended up having a drink. She's a really nice girl, fun and everything."

"Wow, that's great for you, Mark. You should go for her!"

"That's what I thought. She came by the gallery today and we had a meal and everything, plenty of fun, and then she told me that she already has a boyfriend."

"Wait… she told you that she has a boyfriend after your first date?"

Mark shook his head defensively. "No, it was nothing like that. First of all, it wasn't a date. I just asked her to come by, and she did and so we decided to go have a bite to eat. That was it. It wasn't really a date. And she didn't tell me that she had a boyfriend to prevent me from trying anything. We were just talking about happy couples when she mentioned her boyfriend." He sighed. "I don't even think she realised that I'm interested in her."

"Oh." Karl winced. "Man, that really _does_ stink. Poor you!"

"I know. It's just as if I'm not fated to meet anyone good for me. Every time there's just _got_ to be a catch. I mean, the first time it was Juliet and now Dani…" Mark broke off. "Oops, shouldn't have told you that."

Karl's eyes widened. "You were in love with _Juliet_? When was that?"

Mark sighed. "I'm not even sure if I'm over her yet. I've liked her for a _really_ long time. But she's in love with Peter, so I didn't want to do anything about it. He's my best friend. I couldn't so something like that him. Anyway, I wouldn't have succeeded in getting the girl; Peter's so much better in every way. I would just have wrecked everything."

Karl was surprised, shocked even. It must have been so difficult for Mark, being in love with his best friend's girlfriend, now wife. He didn't know how he would have managed if he had been in Mark's shoes. "You know, Mark, I think your problem is that you lack self-confidence. You don't believe that you can get the girl you want if you try. I'm not saying that you should have gone after Juliet despite Peter being your best friend, but maybe this time you shouldn't just give up and withdraw into yourself. Maybe you could just hold on. Things might be different this time. You don't have to do anything to specially try to steal her from her boyfriend, but maybe if you just hang around and don't disappear, a chance might come up for you. Come on, I'm sure you can do it."

"I hope so," Mark said doubtfully. "She's a really lovely girl."


	10. The Most Beautiful Sight

**Chapter 10 : The Most Beautiful Sight**

* * *

"So, what's your problem?" 

"Huh?" Karl put down his glass. _How on earth did he know I have a problem?_

"You must have a problem. I can see it in your face!" Mark said with a short bark of a laugh. "I'm a problem-sensor. I can tell when people have troubles, and I'm there to provide free counselling."

Karl shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing much. You don't have to listen to it. I'm sure things will be fine sooner or later."

Mark took a long drink. "That's _exactly_ what a troubled person says! Come on, you listened to my stupid little problem; now let me listen to yours. Since we're here, we need a better excuse to continue sitting here, don't we? So… what is it?"

"Michael. Well, he's not the problem, per se. It's just that he calls a lot and half the time I spend with Sarah seems to be spent waiting for her to be done talking to Michael. It's not that I hate him; it's just that… you know… it can get a _little_ frustrating sometimes. But how on earth are you supposed to tell Sarah that she should relax about her brother? She'll think I'm trying to get her to neglect Michael."

Mark nodded. "I get that. Lots of people have tried to tell her, trust me. She just can't accept that her brother is already being very well taken care of. She feels as if she should do more for him. I've even tried to tell her; it doesn't really work."

"She always tells Michael that she's not busy. I wonder what would happen if she told him she _was_ busy."

Mark shrugged. "I don't think she's ever tried. But hey, while I'm hanging in my own problem, you just hang on yourself, and then perhaps one day she'll loosen up about all that stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

Mark returned home feeling a little better than before. At least he had his rant. At least he still had _one_ friend who could come out for drinks with him. All wasn't lost yet. At least he could try to hang out with Dani when James was away. At least he could be a friend. It was better than not even speaking to her. 

But why on earth did he always have to settle for second-best?

"Hang on, hang on, hang on," he muttered to himself. That was probably the only solution.

But it didn't prevent things from being sickeningly depressing.

* * *

"Good morning!" Sarah chirped, dropping into Karl's office. 

"Morning," he replied, giving her a kiss.

"Where were you last night? I called you, but there wasn't an answer." Sarah gave him a sly smile. "I thought I would drop by your place after I saw Michael."

"I was having drinks with Mark, and I forgot to bring my mobile phone. Sorry," Karl replied. Having Sarah drop by was a very appealing thought, but at the same time he did not regret being out with Mark. The guy had needed a talk, and even he managed to get his problem off his chest a little. "So, how's Michael?"

"Oh, pretty much the same as every time I visit him. Paranoid, frightened..." She shook her head. "I just don't know what to do when I see him that way."

Karl took her hand. "There's nothing you can do for him, Sarah. He's in good hands where he is. They'll take good care of him there. You don't have to worry all that much for him; he'll be fine."

"But he's just not... _happy_. I wish he could be happy. But how can a person be happy when living where he is? Those people there are doing their jobs, Karl. They don't have time to just sit down and talk to him, be there for him at all times and just _love_ him like he needs. They have other patients to attend to, and so much to do that he has to be forgotten from time to time. And it's for those times that I feel bad." She sighed. "Sometimes I just have this urge to bring him home with me."

Karl could not help feeling a sort of horror at that statement. If Sarah brought her brother home to stay with her, her life would be over, not to mention their relationship. There would be no chance for romance, no chance for anything. It was quite a selfish thought, he knew, and felt a little bad for it, but it was true. "That's a bad idea, Sarah. Who would look after him when you're working? You can't leave him alone at home, can you? He's better off where he is, where there are people to take care of him."

She squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I know that." She walked to the door, one hand on the knob. "Well, thanks for caring," she said, giving him a sweet smile. "I better get to work now."

"No problem. I'll be seeing you," he replied, gesturing to the glass wall of his office, giving him the perfect view of her desk.

She laughed. "Yeah, I know. I'll be seeing you too." And, with a wink, she was out of the office.

Karl looked down at the papers on his desk, his mind a blank. Getting to work was the last thing on his mind at the moment. In fact, the only thing he wanted to do was whisk Sarah off for a holiday on some deserted island for, say, the rest of his life. Where there would be _no_ reception for mobiles, preferably.

* * *

Mark slumped at the counter of the gallery, doodling mindlessly on a piece of paper. The startings of a very fluffy puppy was appearing on the otherwise blank sheet. 

Yet another quiet day at the gallery. Thoughts of a career change were seriously starting to get rooted in his mind. Perhaps he would buy a paper later during lunch and look through the classifieds. It would be a major step forward from just daydreaming, definitely. And even if it got nowhere, at least he had tried to do something about his pathetic life.

He glanced at his watch. Ten in the morning. Ooh, early early early. If only he could still be lazing about in bed, trying to decide what he wanted for brunch and what to watch on TV. If only. Oh, blah.

And then, out of nowhere, his mobile rang. Or rather, vibrated. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, trying to forget the totally weird sensation of something vibrating furiously against his leg. "Yes?"

"Good morning!"

"Dani?"

"Yup."

"Oh, hi. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just thought that I'd give you a call to say hi and ask if you would like to repeat yesterday's lunch arrangement."

"That would be good. So you'll be dropping by later, you insanely free creature?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. And I'm not an insanely free creature. I work at night, while you're partying with your friends or relaxing at home in front of the TV."

"It's usually moping about all by myself."

"I don't believe you. Anyway, I'll be seeing you later, okay? Bye!"

Mark just stared at the phone in his hand. He doubted that he had ever met anyone so free-spirited. Dani just decided what she wanted to do, and went for it no matter what, even if it seemed like the craziest idea. He didn't know anyone else who was that willing to take risks.

The glass door of the gallery opened, and Mark looked up from his mobile to see Juliet walking in. _Isn't this fantastic_, he thought, pleased. "Hey!"

"Hey, you," she replied with a grin, leaning against the counter as he pulled an extra chair over for her. "I didn't have anything much to do this morning so I thought I'd drop by and hang around, keep you company. Then we could go for lunch together later or something."

"No Peter for lunch?"

"Nope, he's working through lunch today. Some important meeting thing coming up."

"That guy really _does_ work far too much, doesn't he? And just leaving you to entertain yourself." For a moment Mark actually felt a little indignant for Juliet, totally forgetting that the couple had had a perfect romantic night the night before. Such a great girl like her couldn't be left alone like that! If _he_ was in Peter's place, he would never leave her around like that. He would always be around for her, always around to make sure she didn't get bored, or didn't need anything. But of course, if he was in Peter's place, he would probably not be so trusting of his best friend with his wife. Suddenly guilt began to set in, pushing away whatever frustration he had just seconds before.

"Mark? Are you okay?"

_Snap out of it._ Mark looked up and gave Juliet a reassuring smile. "I'm just fine. My brain's having slight difficulty focusing today, that's all. Should be fine later." He dug around under the counter, shifting away his storybooks and pads of blank paper and pencils, and resurfaced with a little travel Scrabble kit. "Fancy a game?" He knew that Juliet loved Scrabble.

"Oh, of course!"

* * *

They were just keeping the set as Dani entered. "Oh, I didn't realise you already had a friend over to entertain you," she said.

Juliet jumped to her feet and walked towards Dani, smiling. "That's fine. I came without giving him any warning. I'm Juliet."

"Dani."

Mark just studied them as the two shook hands. Having such a job, he was used to seeing beautiful pieces of art, but at that moment he felt as if he had never seen anything more beautiful than the two of them standing together. Then they both turned and looked at him, and for a moment he was just stunned. The scene before him seemed just... _perfect_. There was nothing about it that he wanted to change. He just wanted it to stay that way forever.

He was broken out of his reverie by Dani saying, "Well? Are we going to venture forth for nourishment?"

He shook himself. "Oh. Yes, yes of course. My mind just stopped working right there." Grabbing his jacket, he stepped out from behind the counter, and the three of them left the gallery, the two women chatting while he locked the doors. They acted as if they had always known each other, instead of having just met. _Perhaps the fact that they're both unavailable unites them_, Mark thought dryly to himself. "Okay. Where to, ladies?"


End file.
